m@bbc.co.uk

by 5ocietyx

Charles Henry Maxwell Knight OBE, known as Maxwell Knight, (b. Mitcham, Surrey, 4 September 1900 – 27 January 1968) was an English spymaster, naturalist and broadcaster, whilst reputedly being a model for the James Bond character M.

After World War II, in 1946, Knight, who had since childhood been an ardent naturalist, began what was to become a successful broadcasting career on BBC radio, appearing in and hosting such programmes as Naturalist, Country Questions and Nature Parliament. He appeared occasionally on television in Peter Scott’s Look and Animal, Vegetable or Mineral and published 34 books and wrote magazine articles. His broadcast career progressed alongside his MI5 work until 1956 when he retired early, from MI5, on the grounds of ill health, suffering from angina. He died in Midgham, Berkshire from heart failure in 1968.